Release of U. of I. information now in hands of U.S. appeals court

University fighting Tribune's request for students' names

February 25, 2012

A federal appeals court is weighing whether the University of Illinois should be forced to release information about applicants who got preferential treatment through a now-defunct secret admissions system.

The dispute, pending before the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, stems from the Tribune's 2009 "Clout Goes to College" series, which exposed the separate admissions track for well-connected applicants. The argument is over whether a federal law — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also known as FERPA — prevents the university from releasing the information.

The university argues that releasing the names would violate students' privacy and FERPA, jeopardizing about $594 million in federal funding. "Our belief is that we would break the law if we revealed the names of students," U. of I. board Chairman Christopher Kennedy said in an interview.

A lower federal court sided with the Tribune last year, finding FERPA does not specifically prohibit the school from sharing the applicants' names. U. of I. appealed that ruling.

"You don't have a legitimate interest in keeping these documents out of the hands of the press; they're a scandal, right?" Posner said. "The university has engaged in a scandal, the full dimensions of which are not yet evident, and the press wants to investigate."